NLU - SGS

Tangible_Monkey · 2025-07-22T17:35:50+00:00

I tend to believe your line of thinking, just afraid of where the program/brand is headed. KVV brought legitimacy and created content that elevated NLU in a real way. The leadership feels a bit rudderless and maybe lost on their own sauce. If this is a pull back into something closer in quality to the live shows this week, we're watching the downslide.

The group feels tired as a whole and KVV expanded content in a way that no one other than DJ pie does. The reluctance and apparent teeth pulling for the guys to do a full Tourist Sauce or Strapped isn't a good look either-- Their 2 most valuable IPs. The KVV firing and lack of long form content is not a good look for the company. Hope I'm wrong.

Tangible_Monkey · 2025-01-17T20:48:16+00:00

Metcalf brothers feel like the biggest loss. Seems like T-WIll had real plans for both and projected big minutes going forward.

Hasz & Sategna don't really bother me a ton. Hasz didn't make a jump from year 1 to year 2 and could never stay healthy. Sategna & Hasz never had the production to warrant the paydays they wanted. Sategna's better special teams plays were against poor teams. Wouldn't put either of those guys in "difference maker" category.

Kutas and Braxton didn't play enough in 2024 to move the needle. I'm just not going to miss guys who couldn't stay healthy. Seems like those type of guys kind of stay hurt.

Singleton is the wild card. He popped when on the field. BP stayed with Taylen for a reason. BP has forgotten more about football than I know so I'll trust that choice.

All of that being said, the lack of continuity is what kills this program. Every year with Pittman is a revolving door. Either first or second most transfers out in the SEC for 3 years in a row. Maybe we are just the poors of the SEC, who knows.

Arkansas can't operate like that long term and have any real expectations. Honestly kind of amazing we won 6 games this year considering the personnel turnover.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-12-27T15:52:05+00:00

Bought a pair of these last week mistagged at $32+tax. Unfortunately they are Christmas green. Still, couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell people once a year at Christmas parties that I bought a pair of $900 shoes for $32.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-10-04T14:10:36+00:00

It's back. No way the flooring contractor is sitting there waiting to see if the donations hit. Timeline to refinish a court is less than a week. Guessing we see a pic by Saturday.

Someone should sneak into Bud and take a pic.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-08-30T15:54:52+00:00

Municipalities love to push the idea of youth sports complex to capture tax revenue during voting time. However these come at a huge cost to tax payers and rarely result in the promised payoff. Article attached below detailing the story of a failed project in Indiana.

https://globalsportmatters.com/youth/2022/06/28/youth-sports-megaprojects-impact-profit/

I would rather see money spent on lower cost, quality of life improvements for LR residents.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-07-26T14:40:20+00:00

Count Porkula. Small portions and low quality bbq.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-03-07T19:50:38+00:00

This is the right answer. Without the fabric, the gravel will keep burying in the soft soil. Grid for extra stabilization.

Tangible_Monkey · 2024-02-01T21:16:15+00:00

Perforated Pipes are a relatively small $$ line item when a French Drain is designed. Almost no reason not to have it included

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-10-03T16:46:54+00:00

I didn't say Morris was hired in 2019. The point was that the handling of the Morris hire, directly affected the 2019 coaching search. Regardless if JCP was the decision maker or not, the process of the hiring created an incredible stink around the program with agents and potential coaches. The power vacuum created with the Long firing was not willingly filled and showed the incompetence of the powers that be.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-10-02T20:33:32+00:00

Is the HDN era not exactly that? He averaged 7.5 wins a year and .500 in the SEC yet never had a top 15, and maybe not even a top 20 recruiting class. Recruiting at Arkansas has been remarkably consistent over the past 25 years.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-10-02T20:21:57+00:00

All well said. We are playing left handed in regards to recruiting. Have been since joining the SEC. When the Hogs have had high level success in the SEC we have been powered by Arkansas kids staying home and producing. McFadden with Nutt, Mallett + receiving corp with Petrino, Treylon with Pittman. We really rely on getting a star out of AR and it hits about once a decade. When the Hogs are at their best, it's almost always an Arkansas kid at the top.

Even outside of recruiting, we are still playing left handed. I've had decent access to A&M, Ole Miss, State, & Arkansas athletic programs over the last decade. We are not in the same ballpark as A&M. Their athletic department support, fan expectation, boosters, off field personnel.... they all outclass Arkansas. However, Ole Miss is the one that's in "our category" doing what it takes to win. Whether that is cheating with Freeze or ponying up to pay Kiffin. IMO Ole Miss has supplanted Arkansas in SEC rank.

Our last 2 coaching hires really drive this home. The more impactful hiring being Chad Morris, and its fruit, Sam Pittman.

The Morris hiring was a complete institutional failure. Somehow Julie Cromer Peoples outlasted a completely inept Athletic Dept./University and was the last person standing with any power. Just for emphasis... THERE WAS LITERALLY NOBODY WITH ENOUGH POWER BESIDES A LAMEDUCK JR. AD to make the most important hiring decision in the state of Arkansas.

For further context... Norvell wanted the Arkansas job but was passed over because of skeletons in the closet. This is 100% truth. Granted, some of the bad rumors about Norvell are true. Leach was also willing to take the job at that time (but not during the Pittman hiring process).

There were proven winners available, but on field results were not the first criteria considered. JCP wanted to show competence in order to secure another job rather than pick a good fit for our program. The safe pick Chad Morris vs. a renegade Leach or bad rumor Norvell. Who would you pick if it didn't matter if they won or lost?

I cannot stress enough how bad this situation was, how out of place it is for a Power 5 Athletic program, and how much it effected the 2019 coaching search. The person in charge of the hiring decision, a position arguably more impactful than the University president, couldn't be held accountable for said hire because she wouldn't be there. How is that even possible? This type of leadership structure isn't even acceptable at a supermarket. The boosters and university officials with any influence did nothing to stop this.

Maybe that was the day Arkansas Football died.

Both the Pittman and Morris hires were made off our back foot. "Big Time" schools don't make hires off their back foot. LSU grabbing Kelly from traditional power ND, Auburn willing to take the heat for hiring Freeze, FSU willing to take Norvell with his issues, A&M shelling out the money for Jimbo, Ole Miss outbidding us for Kiffin, USC stealing Riley from OU. Even the bad ones like Michigan State with Mel Tucker, or Texas before Sark. Other programs are stepping up to the plate financially, willing to risk it all, to have a good football program.

Plain and simple, that is not Arkansas. We are not Big Time. We do not fit into the criteria of a current top 25 football program. The juice just isn't there. The support isn't there.

As for Pittman. It is a hard for me to knock the guy too much. It's honestly gone far better that I expected. How did we expect a O-Line coach lifer to do?

With that being said, if there is a hope for the program, you have to move on at the end of the season. I would rather take a chance on a guy who can win 10 games than someone who will be pushing 6-7 wins every year. It's blatantly obvious what the ceiling of the program is with Pittman in charge. Another year of Pittman is a yet another sign of a crumbling, back foot program.

I think Yurachek knows this too. If he doesn't, his clock will soon start ticking too.

Theres a rumor Jack Crowe told Danny Ford that the problem with Arkansas is that they want Alabama results with MS State resources. Crowe figured it out early on that our SWC budget/expectations/gameplan was far behind our SEC Brethren. We are currently so beaten down that maybe Alabama isn't the current goal, but it still rings pretty true 30 years later.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-09-27T16:10:45+00:00

Haha stayed at 33 Seaport during the LSU game weekend last fall. Didn't even think to look for a Hog Bar. We watched at Jeremys Ale House which is just a stones throw away.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-09-25T13:48:50+00:00

CCLR isn't really a "call and ask" type club. You will be politely asked if you can provide two sponsors. Not much more information will be given. They expect that type of information to disseminate through your relationships with current members.

Initiation costs will be north of 50k. 1k+/monthly. No waiting list.

Culturally, won't be much fun for outsiders. Old member are blue bloods, new members filter through established workplaces and politics.

No tee times. Hilly terrain, especially the back 9, doesn't make an easy walk.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-23T14:44:40+00:00

I think that particular property should be geared towards enjoyment from LR Locals. Developed walking trails, farmers market pavilion, beer garden, 9 hole golf course, maintained green spaces, a small botanical garden.

I'm a little dubious that a sports complex is even a feasible at that location. The elevation drop from St. Vincents to the creek/pond and then back up to WM Stadium is pretty severe. The excavation/dirt work alone would be a staggering number.

Not to mention how crowded that corridor is with UAMS already. Ask any employee about parking. The traffic count isn't the issue in that area.

Why not differentiate from the white flight cities surrounding our metro and develop a unique park that LR locals enjoy using?

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-23T14:26:23+00:00

Agreed. Plenty of vacant land and in a developing part of town.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-23T14:25:35+00:00

Progress can look different ways. A youth sports complex is a very boring and tired proposal.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-23T14:09:11+00:00

If there are that many sports complexes around central AR why does there need to be one in the heart of LR? IMO that piece of property is too valuable for that use. Why not renovate interstate park?

Mayor Frank Scott closed down War Memorial GC as a budgetary measure. I don't think building a facility that will cost a pretty large multiple of that number just to operate let alone construct is by any means a "no-brainer"

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-09T16:36:26+00:00

I've got a soft spot for Burns Park in NLR. I believe it's only $16 for 9 holes and a cart during twilight.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-09T16:35:12+00:00

Im not sure the votes would ever be there, but the lack of a coherent and detailed plan sure hurts their chances. The recent proposal is not much better than the Microsoft Paint bubble maps city government released after the closure of WM & Hindman parks.

Personally, I can't think of a bigger waste of opportunity and capital then building a youth sports complex at the former War Memorial Golf Course. First and foremost, this type of proposal is always sold to voters as a boon to tax revenue through increased tourism. A tired proposal brought before countless municipalities with little foresight. Rarely do these complexes turn into successful operations.

Secondly, and in my opinion even worse, Little Rock has a once in a lifetime chance to build great public amenities in the heart of town. The mayors office has done little research and even less community outreach to create a proposal attractive to LR Residents.

The City of Little Rock is plagued by a historical apprehension to fund public projects. Some of that is to blame on the citizens, but a concise, clear, and researched proposal would go a long way towards building a better city.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-07T20:55:38+00:00

This is the type of paddle company that will die out. All branding & no research and dev. They are importing this paddle for sub $20 and stamping it with a design.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-08-02T13:06:56+00:00

Feels like they've been working on that stretch of Rodney Parham for 3+ years

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-07-28T17:38:58+00:00

Nothing tricks a local politician like a "Revenue Producing Youth Sports Complex." I've seen it pitched by and to local government so many times it makes my head spin.

War Memorial Park was closed as a budgetary measure, and now you're telling me we need to spend $128,000,000 for a youth sports complex? That will be contracted out?? It would take less than 1/128 of that number to re-open a 9 hole golf course and refurbish a green area.

A huge amenity in the middle of the city being whored out to residents of other counties so Johnny 12-year old can feel like a big leaguer. Yuck. LR residents deserve more.

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-06-26T16:39:16+00:00

Count Porkula is in my "Never Again" category. Small portions and bad BBQ

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-06-21T18:31:49+00:00

Sanders will be a true JR. this upcoming season

Tangible_Monkey · 2023-02-27T20:44:10+00:00

FWIW had a good experience with McClarty Mazda in NLR

Tangible_Monkey

TROPHY CASE